


Murder By Proxy

by missthingsplace



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Angst, M/M, Rating: PG13, Two Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-06
Updated: 2014-02-06
Packaged: 2018-01-11 10:37:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1172051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missthingsplace/pseuds/missthingsplace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alien plants have a lot to answer for ...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part 1

 

 

**Title:**  Murder By Proxy  
 **Author:** missthingsplace  
 **Parings/characters:** Jack/Ianto, Gwen  
 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Torchwood or any of the characters ... unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while.  
 **Summary:** Alien plants have a lot to answer for ...  
 **Spoilers: None**  
 **Warnings:** None  
 **Rating: PG13**  
 **Word Count:** 7480 **  
**

“It's a plant!” Ianto exclaimed wearily.

“A very pretty plant, you have to admit that at least?” Jack grinned as the three of the stood around it.

Ianto just cocked an eyebrow at him making Jack chuckle softly.

“Why on earth would an alien plant come through the rift?” Gwen asked, moving a little closer to it.

“No idea.” Jack replied. “But we should get it back to the hub and make sure it's not going to cause any harm to passers by just in case more sprout up.”

“Must have been here a little while, the roots are trying to establish themselves.” Gwen noted as Ianto used a trowel to dig into the earth surrounding it.

Jack shrugged. “No telling with alien plants, it could have come through yesterday as a seed for all we know.”

“Ouch!” Ianto exclaimed, sucking on his finger. “Thorns.” He mumbled around it in explanation.

“Full medical when we get back to the hub, could be poisonous.” Jack told him.

“I feel fine.” Ianto grumbled, taking his finger from his mouth and pulling his leather gloves from his pocket as protection.

“Better safe than sorry.” Gwen told him as she held out a clear plastic evidence bag for him to drop it into.

“Yep, I guess so.” Ianto replied resignedly. “Right, lets get back and get this over with.”

Jack drove the SUV back to the hub, Ianto in the passenger seat trying to ignore the sting in his finger and Gwen in the back with the plant.

“So, you've not seen this plant before then?” Gwen asked Jack.

“No, all the more reason to make sure Ianto's okay.”

“It's gorgeous.” Gwen stated as she held up the bag, the plant was covered in huge blue blooms, they kind of looked a little like oversized roses but there was something else about them she couldn't put her finger on.

“Not always a good thing, sometimes the most beautiful things are the most deadly.” Ianto replied, shaking his finger.

“You okay?” Jack asked him.

“Feel fine except for my finger, it's stinging like hell.” Ianto replied as they swung into the parking garage.

“Straight to the medical bay then.” Jack ordered as they climbed from the car and headed into the hub.

Ianto sat on the examination table, his finger being closely scrutinised by Jack as he seemingly examined every millimetre.

“See anything interesting?” Ianto asked.

“Well, it would see this finger is attached to a gorgeous young man.” Jack replied with a huge grin.

Ianto just sighed and rolled his eyes in exasperation.

“No, swelling, no discolouration, just the tiny wound where it stabbed you.”

“Bloody hurts though.”

“Going to need to take some blood, make sure there's nothing abnormal in your blood now.”

“Do you have to?”

“Yeah, I'll try and get the vein the first time.” Jack apologised in advance as he got out the necessary equipment.

“Times like this I really miss Owen.” Ianto retorted.

“You're not the only one, taking blood really isn't my forte.”

“I noticed!”

“There!” Jack said with a touch of bravado as he managed to get it the needle in the right place the first time. “Perfect.”

“Painkiller now?”

Jack put the full vial of blood down to one side, took Ianto's hand in and and lifted it to his mouth placing a kiss on the injured finger.

“Better?”

“Nope.”

“I could kiss elsewhere, might help?” Jack grinned.

“Painkillers would be more useful.”

Ianto slid off the edge of the examination table and went to get the painkillers himself, swallowing them without water before turning to face Jack.

“Doesn't mean I turn down the offer of being kissed elsewhere though, might take my mind off it.”

“I'll get Gwen to do the blood tests.” Jack grinned, raising his hand to his earpiece.

“Gwen, are you still in the hothouse?”

“Yes, it's all happily replanted in it's own pot now.”

“I need a favour, can you do all the usual tests on Ianto's blood sample?”

“We really need to hire a new doctor Jack.”

“But you can do them, yes?” He replied, ignoring her comment, he still wasn't ready to replace his lost team members.

“Yes Jack, I can do the tests.”

“Thanks, I need to get Ianto home, he needs rest.”

“I'm not sure what you have in mind could ever be construed as rest Jack.”

Jack knew she was grinning from the tone of her voice.

“That maybe so, but he will feel better afterwards.”

“I'll see you in the morning, unless something shows up in the tests.” Gwen replied before cutting the comm.

“Right, lets go.” Jack told Ianto, grabbing his hand and leading him from the medical bay.

*~*~*~*

Jack was dozing, sated with Ianto asleep him in his arms when he was jolted awake by a loud yell, followed by Ianto struggling in his arms as he screamed out loudly, obviously upset.

“No, no, no!” Ianto yelled. “I didn't do it, it wasn't me.”

“Ianto, wake up, you're dreaming.” Jack tried to soothe him, holding him tight.

“Let me go, I could never do that.”

“Ianto, come on wake up.” Jack said a little more forcefully.

“I'm not a murderer.” Ianto's shouting was getting louder and louder, tears pouring down his face but he still wasn't awake.

“Ianto, wake up, you're scaring me.” Jack told him, shaking him gently, then a little harder.

“Jack?” Ianto asked, confused. “I'm not a murderer.”

“It was just a dream, a bad dream.” Jack told him softly, pulling him close and kissing him on the forehead.

“It seemed to real.” Ianto sobbed.

“Nightmare's often do, but that's all it was.”

“I was stalking this woman, I waited until she was alone and then attacked her from behind.” Ianto told him shakily. “I ripped out her liver with my bare hands.”

“You've not left this room, this bed all night.” Jack told him, reaching over to the bedside table and grabbing a handful of tissues and wiping the tears away from Ianto's face.

“I guess ...”

“You couldn't rip someone's liver out with your bare hands Ianto, not possible.”

“I never want another dream like that, ever.” Ianto told Jack and he snuggled closer into Jack's chest.

“You should try and get some more sleep, it'll be light soon.”

Ianto shook his head. “No, I don't want to dream.”

“Chances are you won't and if you do, I'll be here holding you.”

“I'm not sure I'll be able to keep it out of my head.”

Jack put his fingers under Ianto's chin and tilted his face upwards, kissing him deeply as Ianto responded without any resistance.

“Think about that.” Jack told him when they parted panting.

“Not sure that'll help me sleep either.” Ianto smirked.

“Sleep, that's an order.” Jack told him, well aware of the effect the kiss had had on him let alone Ianto.

“Fine.” Ianto mumbled, burying his head in Jack's chest, closing his eyes as he breathed in the comforting aroma that was Jack.

Jack didn't even begin to relax until Ianto had been asleep for over an hour, finally he let his eyes close and allowed himself to doze again.

The rest of the night past without incident and Jack was a little surprised to find himself woken by the alarm clock along with Ianto, reaching over he hit the off button as Ianto mumbled into his chest.

“My head hurts.”

“What type of hurts? Headache, migraine, hangover?”

“It feels like my head is going to explode.”

“Gwen never called so that must mean she never found anything using the usual tests, we'll have to run some more.”

“It could just be an after effect of the nightmare.” Ianto suggested.

“Maybe, but I'm not taking any risks.”

“I'll make coffee.” Ianto told him, unravelling himself from Jack's arms.

Ianto got as far and putting his feet on the floor and getting to his feet before collapsing backwards onto the bed with a loud groan of pain. “Shit!”

“You're going nowhere, back to bed with you.” Jack told him, lifting him back onto his feet, pushing down the duvet and then helping him back into bed.

“I just need coffee and painkillers and I'll be as right as rain.”

“Stay!”

“I am not a dog!”

“You'd look great in a collar though, leather with some studs maybe ...”

“Jack.” Ianto growled and then immediately regretted it as a sharp pain shot through his skull.

“Another time maybe.” Jack grinned at him. “I'll get you some painkillers and a cup of tea.”

“Need coffee.”

“My coffee?”

“Now you mention it.” Ianto replied, screwing up his nose at the thought.

“Tea it is then, back in five.” Jack told him as he left the room, still naked.

Ianto settled back in the bed, his head felt like his brain was going to explode and his eyes like they were going to going fly out of their sockets. He wondered briefly if it could be meningitis but the bright light shining through the window wasn't making the pain any worse and he had no sign of a rash so he dismissed the idea.

“Here you go.” Jack told him as he reappeared with a tray containing a glass of water, a mug of tea, a packet of painkillers and two slices of toast. “I didn't burn the toast either.”

“Not hungry.”

“Shouldn't take the painkillers on an empty stomach.” Jack told him, placing the try on the bed beside Ianto.

Ianto picked up a triangle of toast, took a large bite and then set it back on the plate before pushing two pills through the foil of the packet and swallowing them with the provided water.

“Happy?”

“It'll have to do.” Jack told him, obviously not impressed. “I'm going to the hub, I'll call Gwen on the way to double check the results and she can help me to do the more intensive ones.”

“You won't need more blood will you?”

“I doubt it, but I'll come and get more if I need to.”

“I'll just lay here then and wait for my head to explode.”

“I'll bring you some coffee later, okay?”

“Can you do something else for me?”

“Anything.”

“When you return I'd like my nurse to be wearing the correct attire.” Ianto grinned despite the pain.

“You think scrubs are sexy?”

“Nope, I think proper nurses uniforms are sexy, especially when short and worn with stockings.” Ianto deadpanned.

“Well, when I said anything ...”

Ianto burst out laughing, clutching his aching head in his hands as he tried to stop again.

“You git, you're joking aren't you?” Jack tried to looked annoyed but he couldn't stop the grin playing on his lips.

“Oh god my head!”

“No one to blame but yourself.” Jack told him. “Be good.”

Jack kissed Ianto softly on the lips before finally dressing, another kiss, a little longer and lingering and after Ianto assured him that his headache was abating a little Jack left for the hub.

Ianto pulled the duvet over his head, he felt suddenly exhausted and despite the pain raging beneath his skull he closed his eyes and quickly drifted into sleep.

*~*~*~*

“Gwen, results of the test.” Jack asked the second she responded to the her comm.

“All normal Jack, I would have called you if I had found anything.”

“Yeah, I know, but there's something up with Ianto this morning, we'll have to do more tests.”

“I'll meet you at the hub, I'm just leaving home now.” Gwen told him.

“I'll buy the coffee.” Jack told her, breaking the link and parking the car before making his way across the Plass to the small coffee place they sometimes used.

When Jack entered the hub soon after he found Gwen waiting for him, watching a news report on one of the computer monitors.

“Have you seen this? Andy called just called me but it was already all over the news.”

“Something we should know about?” Jack asked, handing Gwen her coffee and looking at the screen which had just changed to a new news item.

“Woman found killed on Queen Street, someone or something ripped out her liver with it's bare hands by the looks of it.” Gwen replied. “What?” She continued at the look on Jack's face.

“Nothing, can you go and check out the crime scene, all the usual stuff and I'll start the extra tests on Ianto' blood.”

“Sure, Jack what's wrong?”

“It's nothing.” Jack snapped. “Sorry.” He added apolitically.

“It's Ianto isn't it, what's wrong?”

“His head hurts, so badly he collapsed when he tried to get out of bed this morning.”

“Could just be a headache?”

“Ianto says no, feel like his hole head is going to explode.”

“I'll go and see what I can find, talk to Andy some more and I'll be back to help.”

“Thanks Gwen, oh and we are taking over the case so we'll need the body.”

“I know the drill Jack.” Gwen replied, downing the last of her coffee and tossing the empty cup in the bin before grabbing her coat.

“Yeah, I know ...”

“Back soon.” Gwen called as she made her way across the hub, Jack was in the medical bay before she had even got through the cog door.

“Right.” Jack spoke to himself. “Very damn test I can think of.”

*~*~*~*

When Gwen returned a couple hours later she could hear Jack ranting to himself in the medical bay.

“There had to be something.” She heard him shout followed by the sound of something glass hitting a wall and shattering. “Something.”

Gwen ran across the hub and down the steps into the medical bay. “Jack calm down, this won't help anyone.”

“I can't find any abnormalities, I've tried almost every test I can think of.”

“But that's a good thing isn't it, points to it just being a bad headache?”

“What if it's not the plants doing, what if it's a brain tumour, cancer?” Jack replied, allowing a tear to slid down his face.

“Jack, there's something you're not telling me.”

“What did you find out at the murder scene?” Jack asked.

“Don't change the subject.”

“I'm not, you'll understand in a minute, tell me what you found?”

“Okay, as Andy said it looks like the young woman's liver was ripped from her body without the use of any implement, just a bare hand. The scanner shows small amounts of rift residue and the whole is about the size of a melon.”

“Where's the body?”

“The police still have it but they are under strict instructions not to touch it, I couldn't get it back on my own.”

“We can collect it later.”

“So, how is this connected to Ianto's headache?”

“He had a nightmare in the middle of the night, more like a night terror as he was still asleep. He was struggling and yelling that he didn't do it and that he wasn't a murderer.” Jack told her. “He dreamed he murdered a woman by ripping out her liver by hand.”

“But that's impossible.”

“Of course, Ianto isn't a murderer and he was in bed with me all night.”

“So his dream was just a coincidence?”

“It's all very strange and I think this plant somehow has something to do with it, he's seeing the murderer kills it's victims through the murderer's own eyes.”

“And the tests haven't shown anything?”

“Not a bloody thing.” Jack growled in frustration.

“Then we should get him in here and do a scan on him, if anything just to put your mind at rest that it's not a brain tumour.” Gwen suggested.

“Yeah, you're right.” Jack sighed. “But it still doesn't explain the dream.”

“Have you searched the databases?”

“No, we should check the UNIT ones as well as our own.”

“You do UNIT, I'll search ours.” Gwen told him. “Phone Ianto first, make sure he's okay.”

“I will.” Jack replied as they made their way out the medical bay, splitting up along the way as Gwen headed to her workstation and Jack to his office.

Jack pulled out his mobile and called Ianto's knowing it would be on his bedside table, waiting impatiently and a little worriedly for Ianto to answer.”

“'Lo.” Ianto mumbled half asleep into the phone.

“It's Jack, how you feeling.”

“My head is still throbbing and I feel so tired, so very tired.” Ianto finished with a loud yawn.

“Take some more painkillers and I'll be home soon, I promise.”

“Yep.” Ianto replied, cutting the call and snuggling back under his duvet.

Jack flipped his phone shut and put it on his desk, whatever was happening to Ianto he knew somehow it was the plants doing, turning on his computer he hacked into the UNIT database and did a search for anything plant like.

When it came up with over four thousand hit's Jack narrowed the parameters, putting in details of the colour and the thorns and anything else that came to mind and then sat back and waited.

“No matches on our data base.” Gwen told Jack as she entered his office. “Any luck?”

“Still searching.”

“How's Ianto?”

“Still in pain and feeling tired.”

“Jack look, that's it isn't it?” Gwen pointed at the screen excitedly.

“Yeah.” Jack said as he clicked on the picture and the information about it came up on the screen.

“Plant is of unknown origin but it is believed to enhance psychic powers, people who have contact with it can suffer with throbbing headaches, extreme tiredness, high temperature and lethargy.” Gwen read out loud. “The pain can be so intense that it has caused three known cases of the infected to kill themselves by shooting themselves in the head and four others have died seemingly from the infection.”

“Death occurs around five to six days after infection, shit.” Jack exclaimed.

“There's an antidote, and how to make it but it takes three days for it to get to the right stage for use.” Gwen told him.

“Then we start on it now, it's nearly a day already since his finger was pierced by the thorn.” Jack pressed the print button as he got up from his chair.

“I can do this.” Gwen told him as she took the printed sheets of paper from the printer. “Go home to Ianto.”

Jack hesitated for a few moments. “Be careful, I don't want to be making it for you too.”

“According to this I just need some of the petals, I won't need to go anywhere near the thorns.”

“If you need me, you call me, don't take any risks Gwen, some of those chemicals you need to use are dangerous in their undiluted state.”

“Jack, home.” Gwen ordered him.

“Thanks Gwen.” Jack told her, grabbing his coat and bounding down the steps from his office two and a time and running all the way to the SUV.

Although only late afternoon the sun was setting and the air was cold, Jack cranked up the heating in the SUV as he wished the winter would end. After parking a little haphazardly Jack let himself back into Ianto's flat and headed straight to his bedroom.

“Ianto?” Jack called the the shivering heap that was Ianto buried completely under the duvet.

“Cold Jack, so cold.” Came the muffled reply.

Jack quickly stripped to his underwear and got into the bed, pulling Ianto into his arms and warmth but as soon as he touched Ianto body he could feel the fever raging though him.

“You're burning up.” Jack stated, rapping his arms tightly around his lover.

“No, I'm freezing, can't stop shivering.” Ianto insisted.

“I'll get more bedding.” Jack told him, reluctantly letting him go and climbing from the bed.

Jack returned a few minutes later with another duvet and a fleecy lined sweatshirt and job bottoms for Ianto, after lying the second duvet over the bed Jack climbed back in with the clothes, dressing Ianto in them with more than a little difficulty before pulling him back into his embrace.

“Better?”

“A little.” Ianto mumbled, then yawned again. “Jack, what's wrong with me? The flu?”

“It was that plant, it's infected you and Gwen's working on the antidote right now.”

“I feel like shit.”

“Have you taken more painkillers? Drunk anything?”

“Pills aren't working, not thirsty.”

“You need to drink, you're burning up.” Jack told him making to leave the bed once more.

“Stay, I need you more than anything else.”

“Okay, for now but I'm going to get you a drink soon.”

“Okay, need to sleep.” Ianto told him then yawned repeatedly for a minute or so before falling asleep in Jack's arms.

*~*~*~*

Gwen laid out all the items she needed on the counter in the medical bay including a pile of petals from the alien plant, pulled on a pair of protective gloves, took a deep breath and began her task.

“This better work.” She told herself somewhat sternly as she put the petals in the pestle and mortar and began to crush them.

*~*~*~*

Ianto slept for more than four hours before he started screaming in his sleep, a loud, terrifying scream that made Jack jump what would have seemed like a foot in the air if the heavy covers hadn't been over him.

“No! No!” Ianto screamed. “I won't do it.”

“Ianto, come on, wake up.” Jack told him, shaking his body with his own.

“Somebody stop me, please, somebody stop me.” Ianto yelled at the top of his voice.

“Ianto!” Jack shouted loudly at him. “Ianto wake up, it's just a dream wake up.”

Ianto's eyes flew up and locked on Jack's before he began to sob heart wrenchingly as Jack just held him tight. “

“I did it again, I killed someone.” Ianto wailed.

“No, you didn't, you've been here with me. It's the plant, it enhancing your psychic abilities and somehow you're seeing the murderer kill it's victims.” Jack told him. “You're not responsible.”

“What if ...”

“Not. Your. Fault.” Jack told him, kissing the top of Ianto's head softly between each word. “How the headache?” He asked, realising that Ianto's shaking body wasn't just from the sobs racking his body.

“Worse, if that's possible.” Ianto groaned. “Why me?”

“Bad luck, any of us could have been hurt by the plant.”

“I feel like I want to die, put me out of my misery Jack and shoot me in the head.” Ianto pleaded.

“Don't ever ask me to do that again.” Jack told him, fighting back the tears. “Just hold on, please, for me.”

“I don't know if I can.” Ianto told him, tilting his head up to look at Jack.

“You can, I know you can.”

“I wish I had your faith in me.” Ianto told him sadly.

“I need to go pee.” Jack told him, leaving the bed and almost sprinting to the bathroom.

Jack relieved himself and splashed his face with cold water, when he returned to the bedroom Ianto was a shivering heap beneath the duvets again. Jack picked up his discarded trousers and pulled out the box, opening the lid he took out a syringe of morphine, one of six within it that he had prepared while Gwen had been out earlier and headed back to bed.

“This might sting.” He told Ianto, injecting it into his him before Ianto had time to registrar what he was doing.

“Jack?” Ianto managed to say before he passed out.

“Sorry, but if I have to I'll keep you sedated until we have the antidote.” Jack told his sleeping lover.

When Jack slid quietly out of the the bed it was gone midnight, slipping on Ianto's dressing gown he retrieved his mobile from his coat pocket and called Gwen.

“How's it going?” Jack asked her as soon as she answered.

“It's finished, we just have to wait for it to reach the right stage now, it should go a bright yellow colour when it's ready.”

“You followed the instructions to the letter?”

“Jack, Ianto's life is in the balance, of course I did.” Gwen replied indignantly. “Andy called a little while ago, there's been another murder, same MO.”

“I know, Ianto had the nightmare again.”

“How is he?”

“Worse, he's got a temperature but he's telling me he's shaking like a leaf and saying he's cold.” Jack paused briefly. “I gave him morphine, he asked me to kill him.”

“He must be in agony.”

“He is and until that antidote is ready all I can do is try and keep him comfortable and if that means giving him morphine then I will.”

“I'm not going to judge you Jack, you know I'd do the same for Rhys.”

“Is there anything we need to do to the antidote while it ... matures?”

“No, it's to be kept at room temperature and not moved. I've put it in your office where it can't be disturbed.”

“Thanks, again Gwen. It's gone midnight, go home and get some sleep, tomorrow I'll go with you to collect those bodies from the police, if we can find what's doing this maybe the nightmares will end.”

“You think it's just causing the connection to the one killer?”

“I hope so, I really do. Night Gwen..”

Night Jack.” Gwen replied.  


tbc ,,,


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Alien plants have a lot to answer for ...

Heading back to the bedroom Jack removed the dressing gown and got back into bed, if Ianto woke screaming again then it would be in his arms.

Ianto slept right through the the morning, the morphine doing exactly what Jack had wanted it to for him. Jack had left the bed to make him tea and toast, spreading slices with various toppings, butter, jam, marmalade, honey, peanut butter and chocolate spread in the hope that at least one of them would tempt him to eat.

Jack carried the laden tray back to the bedroom finding his timing about right as Ianto began to stir, his head emerging sleepily from below the covers and trying to focus.

“Jack? My eye sights a bit blurred, is that you?” Ianto asked and then pressed his hands to his head.

“Yeah, it must be the headache causing the sight problem, there was nothing about it in the symptoms listed.”

“Only I could get a symptom that's not normal.” Ianto groaned.

“Here, drink this.” Jack pressed the mug of tea in his hands.

Ianto took a sip. “Too much sugar.”

“Deliberately so, drink some more and then try some toast.” He told him, noticing that Ianto will still shaking a little, but not a much as the day before.

“Not hungry.”

“You need to eat something, what topping do you want?”

“Chocolate spread.” Ianto replied wearily, all he wanted to do was go back to sleep and make the pain go away. “I'm so sleepy.”

“Eat and then you can sleep again.” Jack promised.

“What did you give me last night, I want the same again.”

“Morphine.”

“It worked like a miracle, I slept like a log.”

“I had an ulterior motive.” Jack confessed. “If you were in such a deep sleep you couldn't try and ...”

“I know what I asked Jack.” Ianto replied bluntly, finishing the slice of toast.

“Finish the tea, I want to take yo to the hub to do a scan, just to make sure it's not affecting you physically as well, there's there nothing in your head causing the pain.”

“Like a tumour? You think it might have given me cancer?” Ianto asked, his voice barely a whisper.

“No, but I just want to make sure.”

“I don't want to move, can't you bring the portable scanner here?”

“I could.” Jack replied. “I'm going to have to leave you alone to help Gwen collect the bodies.”

“Bodies?” Ianto asked curiously.

“Just something we need to investigate when you're well again, don't worry.” Jack told him, averting his eyes so Ianto couldn't see he was lying.

“Make me sleep.” Ianto asked, his eyes showing his pain clearly.

Jack nodded. “Okay, I'll be back before you wake.” Jack told him, reaching for the metal box and extracting another syringe.

Jack pushed back the duvets and administered the morphine, sitting on the bed holding Ianto's hand until he drifted into an unnatural sleep and then dressed quickly.

Once Jack had deposited the tray in the kitchen, putting the uneaten toast in the bin and the empty mugs in the sink Jack checked again on Ianto, kissing his brow carefully and left the flat wondering if Ianto's forehead had seemed a little cooler or if he was just imagining it and headed to the hub.

Jack arrived to find Gwen already there and waiting for him in the parking garage, she climbed in and they headed to collect the bodies.

Gwen tried to start up a conversation with him but Jack was barely aware of her speaking so she let him brood in silence, he would talk when he was ready.

They collected the bodies with more efficiently that she had ever seen from Jack and they were back at the hub within the hour, one body in the morgue and the other in cold storage.

“Reminds me a little of Mary, but she was ripping out their hearts.” Jack pondered.

“Definitely something alien?”

“Only an alien could rip it out like that.” Jack replied. “If only we knew where to look, where to find it.”

“Second body was found on Queen Street too, two doorways down from the first.” Gwen told him, checking her notes.

“Then it's living somewhere in that vicinity.” Jack replied, a little hope in his voice. “We kill it, catch it, the nightmare's stop and we just have to worry about the antidote.”

“It's attacked two nights in a row, I'd give odds on it attacking again tonight.” Gwen told him.

“Then tonight I guess we'll be in Queen Street.” Jack stated.

“How is he Jack?”

“Still in agony, he wanted the morphine.”

“At least it'll stop the pain, if only for a while.”

“I think his temperature has dropped and the shivering has started to subside.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“I have no idea.” Jack told her sadly.

“I thought you were bringing him in for a scan?”

“He didn't think he was up to it and I'm inclined to agree, I'll take the portable scanner home with me.”

“I checked on the antidote, it's still red for now, it should go orange and then yellow.”

“The sooner the better.” Jack told her. “We should feed the inmates, you do Janet, I'll tackle Myfanwy.”

“Okay, then you go home to Ianto while I see what I can find from this body.”

“I can stay, help you.”

“Where would you rather be Jack?”

“With Ianto.” Jack told her.

“Exactly, here you will be distracted, I'm perfectly capable to doing this, we've all had to since ...”

The unspoken names hovered above them in the air, neither of them speaking for a moment until they got their emotions in check again.

“We have to replace them sometime Jack.”

“I know, it's just too soon.”

“It'll always be too soon.”

“Yeah.” Jack told her, walking away without another word to feed Myfanwy.

*~*~*~*

It was a couple of hours later when Jack finally got back to Ianto's flat, Ianto was buried beneath the duvets again but the shivering seemed to have stopped completely.

Jack placed the pile of folders he had with him on the coffee table and sat down on the sofa with a sigh, he knew Gwen was right and as much as he had tried to put it off he needed to at least make a short list of people suitable for the vacancies.

By the time Jack heard Ianto stirring several hours later he still didn't have a pile of maybes, just one for the doctor position. He wished he had been able to talk Martha into leaving UNIT and joining him as part of his team but she didn't want to leave London.

Jack got to his feet with a groan at the pain in his lower back and went to see Ianto, finding him sitting on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands.

“Bathroom?” Jack asked.

“Yep.” Ianto replied quietly.

Jack slid one arm under Ianto's legs and the other around his torso and carried him the sort distance to the bathroom, supporting him as Ianto did what he needed to do and them helped him back to bed.

“I hate that you had to do that.” Ianto told him, resting his head back against the pillows.

“I don't mind.”

“I do.”

“Maybe I need to get that nurses uniform.” Jack grinned, cocking his eyebrow.

Ianto chuckled softly and then groaned. “Ow.”

“Hows the head?”

“Still there amazingly.” Ianto deadpanned.

“I mean the pain.”

“I know, the same.”

“Do you want some more morphine?” Jack asked, looking at his watch. “I can give you some soon.”

“I want to say yes but can you just hold me for a while.”

“You don't even have to ask.” Jack replied, stripping off to his underwear again. “As much as I want you in my arms if you need the morphine, you ask for it, okay?”

“Believe me, when the last dose wears off completely you'll be the first to know.”

Ianto turned onto his side and let Jack spoon against his back, Jack's arms wrapping protectively around him as Ianto closed his eyes and tried to block out the pain.

Neither of them said much, they just lie there as Jack gave what comfort his body could and Ianto took it for nearly an hour before Ianto gave in and asked for more morphine.

“Once the antidote is ready you'll be as right as rain.” Jack told him, injecting him in the top of the leg again.

“Soon I hope.” Ianto replied as his eyelids fluttered shut.

Jack kissed him softly on the lips and went back to the living room with a sense of determination and began to go through the files again.

When Gwen called him a few hours later to arrange when and where they were meeting to try and catch the alien before it could kill again Jack had three piles of files, one contained people he had rejected completely, one had three potential doctors and the other four potential computers genius'.

“Eleven at the end of Queen Street.” Jack told her. “By WH Smiths.”

“See you in an hour or so then.” Gwen told him and cut the call.

Jack looked at his watch, time had flown by while he had been scrutinising the files. Heading to the bedroom Jack wondered if he should give Ianto a small top up dose of morphine before he left as it would be wearing off again soon.

Deciding against it, scared of overdosing him Jack left a glass of water and painkillers next to the bed with a note saying he would return soon.

Gwen was stood shivering when Jack met her, the cold winds of winter were whistling down the road making eerie noises in the night.

“At least it's not raining.” Jack commented as he saw the expression on her face.

“Bugger this, it's freezing.” Gwen grumbled. “It better turn up and soon.”

“Okay, where exactly did the attacks take place?”

“A bit further down, one in the doorway of Boots and the other Next.”

“Very good for business.” Jack snarked. “So, lets move closer and find somewhere to hide.”

They walked down the road a little, stopping four doors away from the nearest murder site and huddled back in the doorway.

“There's no one about.” Gwen stated. “Not a living soul.”

“Yeah there is, us.” Jack grinned, his teeth gleaming in the glow of the street light.

“You've got to be kidding me, you want one of us to be bait?”

“Why not, we're prepared and I'll be watching you every second.”

“Me? Why me?”

“Both victims were women, stands to reason it likes it's victims female.”

“Or just coincidence?”

“Yeah ... but is it worth taking the chance?”

“I guess not.” Gwen signed. “So, what do I do now?”

“Walk, like you're just trying to get home, don't make it suspicious.”

“I would like to get home so it should be easy.” Gwen told him. “Eyes on me at all time.”

“Of course.” Jack told her as she set off.

“Stop watching my arse Harkness.” She told him, trying not to laugh as she began to walk down the road.

“Me? Never.” Jack replied in mock horror before becoming serious again.

Jack watched as Gwen walked to the other end of the road without incident, she turned on her heel and activated her comm.

“Nothing.”

“Walk back.”

Gwen began her journey back towards Jack, suddenly even more aware of the noise of her heels clicking on the pavement echoing in the night.

She was half way back when something rushed out of an alleyway between two buildings and knocked her flying, Jack began running towards her as she let out a loud scream.

Gwen was lying on her front, the humanoid creature had a foot pressing on the back of her neck and it was just about to plunge it's 'hand' into her body when Jack levelled his webley at the back of it's head and cocked it.

The creature turned to look at him, it's green skin glowing luminously in the lamp light and it's segmented eyes stared straight at Jack for a split second before it tried to continue taking Gwen's liver.

“No!” Jack yelled as he pulled the trigger, the creatures brains splattering on the ground seconds before it dropped like a stone next to her.

“Fuck!” Gwen exclaimed as Jack helped her to her feet, rubbing the back of her neck. “That was close.”

“Lets get this thing out of here, I need to get back to Ianto.”

“OMG, he probably had another nightmare when it attacked me.”

“A risk I had to take, come on, grab it's feet.”

Between they they carried it to the SUV and dumped it in the boot.

“Did you drive?” Jack asked.

“No, I got a taxi to drop me off at the end of the road, I think he thought I was mad.”

“Right, we'll go to Ianto's then you can take the SUV back to the hub, we'll deal with this in the morning.” Jack told her as they climbed in.

“Fair enough.”

*~*~*~*

Jack burst into the flat, he could hear Ianto howling but it wasn't coming from the bedroom. Jack found him in the kitchen, a broken tumbler beside him as he held a large piece of glass dangerously close to his wrist.

“No!” Jack yelled, grabbing the glass from him before he could react and dropping down beside him, hugging him tight.

“Again, it happened again.” Ianto howled. “This has to stop.”

“It has, Ianto the plant was causing you to see an alien murdering people through it's eyes, it's dead now, Gwen and I caught it.”

“It's over?”

“The nightmares are over, the antidote will take a little longer.”

“I can cope with the headache if I don't have to go through the nightmares.” Ianto told him, calming down a little. “I woke up terrified and you were gone.”

“I'm sorry, we had to find it.”

“It's okay.” Ianto told him. “Help me back to bed.”

Jack helped Ianto to his feet and carried him despite Ianto's protests.

“How did you get to the kitchen?”

“I crawled, took me forever.”

“The antidote should be ready in about 36 hours, please don't scare me like that again.” Jack told him as he put him back in bed.

“As long as you keep the morphine coming I'll be fine.”

“I don't want you becoming addicted to it.”

“Once the pain is gone I promise I won't need it, I'm stronger than that.”

“Yeah, I know.” Jack pressed a small kiss to Ianto lips.

“Ouch.” Ianto moaned. “Sorry, my face hurts along with the rest of my head.”

“We can make up or it when you're better.” Jack smiled.

“I thought you might say that, now, about that morphine.”

“I'll get it.” Jack sighed, not really wanting to give him anymore but unable to refuse him.

*~*~*~*

It was actually thirty two hours later when Gwen called. “Jack, it's yellow!” She yelled down the phone.

“Fantastic.” Jack yelled back, relieved, apprehensive and excited all at the same time. “I'll bring him in.”

Jack rushed to the bedroom where Ianto was out cold only having had another dose of morphine a couple of hours earlier and yanked back the covers, relieved that Ianto was still wearing warm clothes while in bed as he was still feeling the cold Jack just picked him up and carried him out to the care, placing him on the back seat a little amazed that the cold air didn't wake him.

Ianto was still asleep when the reached the hub, Jack lifted him from the car without so much as a groan from Ianto and raced him to his office where Gwen was waiting, the antidote bright yellow on his desk.

“How do we administer it?” Jack asked, lying Ianto on the sofa.

“Injection into a vein, actually it's a good thing he's out of it as it says it's painful for up to thirty minutes after it's injected.”

“Lets get this over with.” Jack said as he pushed up Ianto's sleeve.

Gwen lowered the needle of the syringe into the liquid and drew up the thirty millimetres as instructed by the UNIT site and handed it to Jack.

Jack took a steadying breath and then injected the contents into Ianto, both of them jumping a little when Ianto whole body started shaking as if he was having a fit.

“Gwen is this normal, what does it say?”

Gwen scanned the printout. “Yes, it shouldn't last long.” She told Jack, Ianto already beginning to settle down again.

“Thank god!” Jack muttered.

“Now we just wait for him to wake up.”

“Yeah, and hope it's worked.”

“According to this is should take effect instantly and the symptoms should be gone in three or four hours.” Gwen told him.

“I wish I hadn't given him more morphine, he's going to be out of it for a while longer.”

“You stay here with him, I'll go and get some coffee.” Gwen told him.

“I need some, that's for sure.” Jack told her as she went to grab her coat and bag.

*~*~*~*

Just under three hours later Ianto woke, the first thing he realised was that he wasn't in his bed but somehow on the sofa in Jack's office, the send thing he realised was that his head no longer hurt, not even a twinge.

Sitting up carefully Ianto realised he was alone, he paused for a second wondering if he should try standing.

Deciding it was a good idea he got to his feet, smiling when he didn't tumble backwards. Whatever that antidote was he was feeling like a new man, and all the sleep he'd had over the last three days probably hadn't done him any harm either he thought as he went in search of life.

Walking down to steps from Jack's office he could see Jack and Gwen sat on the sofa in the main hub in deep conversation, neither of them noticed him until he stopped a couple of feet away and gave a small cough.

“Ianto!” Gwen squealed, leaping to her feet and hugging him. “How you feeling?”

“Never felt better.” Ianto replied, kissing her on the forehead. “Thank you.”

“It was nothing.”

“No, you made the antidote, you saved my life.”

“Well, if you put it like that.” Gwen laughed.

“Jack, are you okay?” Ianto asked, Jack was still sat on the sofa as if he couldn't believe Ianto was standing before them looking and sounding fine.

“You're okay? You're really okay?” Jack asked, finally getting to his feet.

Ianto moved towards him, meeting him half way and pressing his forehead to Jack's.

“Yep, I can't believe just how wonderful I feel.”

“I thought I might lose you.”

“Not yet, I'm not going anywhere.” Ianto told him, brushing his lips against Jack despite the fact that Gwen was watching.

“Good, 'cos I'm nowhere near ready for that yet.” Jack told him before capturing his mouth in a desperate kiss.

Gwen lingered for a minute or so, a huge smile on her face as she watched and then slipped away, leaving them as they edged towards the sofa, lips still joined and dropped down onto it as little moans escaped their mouths.

When Rhys got home from work that evening he found Gwen happier than he had seen for for days and knew Ianto was fine without asking and when she dragged him into the bedroom with barely a word, well, who was he to complain?

The End.


End file.
